High School Boys Ranked Girls Into A ‘Prom Draft’ To Pick Dates, So Good Luck To The Next Generation

In today’s edition of high school kids being totally shitty garbage humans, students at Corona del Mar High School apparently ranked potential prom dates into an NFL-style draft. Whatever happened to just asking someone to prom, instead of it becoming a collective activity? Where do we even begin?

From my time as a member of a fantasy basketball league, I can explain the basic premise of a draft, for those of you who may be out of the loop. The boys drew numbers to designate their place in the picking order, and when a boys’ turn came up, he would try to pick the highest ranked girl that was still available. That’s right–they ranked the girls based on desirability as a prom date. With numbers. If a boy was unhappy with his place in the picking order, he could pay his way higher. In fact, one junior paid $140 to get a higher ranking with a specific girl in mind, according to one anonymous student. He continued that:

“It’s awkward because he spent a large amount of money to go with someone he doesn’t talk to. And she finds it awkward that he chose her.”

What’s equally disturbing about the boys conducting the draft is that many of the girls honor the system, according to that same anonymous student. Any complaints from the female students weren’t about the draft itself, but about how sophomore girls were getting picked over junior girls. Clearly, high school social hierarchies are not to be messed with, and these girls have figured out that male-decided rankings like these are the way you get anywhere at their school. It’s sickening. It’s high school.

The school principal, Kathy Scott, said that “it is not OK for any student to be objectified or judged in any way,” which is certainly true, and wants parents to talk to their kids about why the prom draft is just about the worst way to assign worth. I understand that nowadays prom is a much bigger deal than it was even the less than a decade ago when I went–promposals are a thing now, for example. Prom is a lot of things–raised expectations, a night built up in your mind for years, and a silly dance party, but it’s supposed to be a systematic way to tell young women exactly where they stand according to the desires of teenage boys.